Static load test and load transfer mechanism study of squeezed branch and plate pile in collapsible loess foundation

As a special geological phenomenon, the character of collapsible loess foundation is collapsible when penetrated by water. This character leads to the soil losing load bearing capacity largely and may lead to foundation failure. Pile is a popular foundation used in collapsible loess. The squeezed branch and plate pile is a new type of pile developed in recent years and has not be used in a project before. In this paper three squeezed branch and plate piles are tested in collapsible loess after immersion processing. The results may be used for reference in similar construction project, and to provide theoretical references for de- signing of the squeezed branch and plate piles in engineering practice.

Experimental study on improving collapsible loess with cement

The collapsibility of loess ground can directly affect stability of subgrade. Therefore, how to adopt practical technical measures to reduce or eliminate its collapse deformation is an important content in foundation design in collapsible loess zone. Selecting collapsible loess from Fuxin-Chaoyang highway in Liaoning, the authors conducted a series of tests for improving loess with cement. The loess in different water content was mixed with the cement in varying proportions, unconfined compression strength for the samples at four different curing periods were tested, and the relationships of improved soil strength among cement mixture ratio and curing periods were analyzed. When the curing periods are certain, the strength of loess increases along with the mixture ratio increases; when the cement mixture ratio is 5%-15%, the scope of increases is quite obvious; when the mixture ratio is greater than 15%, the tendency of intensity increases turns slow. When the mixture ratio for the specimen is certain, the intensity of the test specimen increases along with the curing period increases, the intensity grows obviously in 28 days, and the growth rate is small in 28-90 days, the intensity tends to be steady in the curing period of 90 days.

The Research on Treating Collapsible Loess by Down Whole Deep Compaction and Cement Fly-ash Gravel

The treatment of loess foundation is always difficult.The analysis of its advantages and mechanism of treating loess foundation by CFG,on the base of project geology,through construction example,we suggest the compound plan by both DDC and CFG.The tests illustrates that the down hole deep compaction and cement-fly ash-gravel are effective foundation treatment method to eliminate the collapsibility of loess,increase the bearing capacity and improve the behavior of composite foundations.

Constructing Large Capacity Power Plant on Collapsible Loess Stratum with Huge Thickness

1 Preface In the northern and northwestern parts of China, quite a large portion of area, approximately 630,000 km^2, is covered by loess and loess-liked soils. The loess thickness ranges from several meters to several hundred meters along the river’s terraces to those geomorphologic plateaus. In geology, "China Loess" has become a geologic term, because the loess in China has evolved with the widest distribution and greatest thickness in the world, and is also a typical and significant deposit in Quaternary Period.

Influence of Collapsible Loess on Foundation and its Treatment Strategy

The properties of collapsible loess are complex.The self-gravity of overlying soil,sei gravity stress and additional stress act together,which will damage the soil structure and lead to the deformation of the soil structure.Collapsible loess is widely distributed in Northwest and Northeast China.A series of problems caused by its structural characteristics will affect the quality of foundation construction.Therefore,construction enterprises need to deeply study the foundation treatment measures of collapsible loess,so as to avoid the uneven settlement after the construction of collapsible yellow soil foundation.This paper analyzes from the judgment and classification of collapsible loess,studies the impact of collapsible loess on building fbxmdation construction,and explores the specific construction treatment measures of collapsible loess,in order to promote the effective application of foundation construction.

Collapse behavior and microstructural evolution of loess soils from the Loess Plateau of China

Loess soils are characterized by metastable microstructure, high porosity and water-sensitivity. These soils have always been problematic soils and attracted attention from researchers all over the world. In the present study, three loess soils extracted at various depths from the Loess Plateau of China, i.e. Malan(Q_3), upper Lishi(Q_2~2) and lower Lishi(Q_2~1) loess soils, were studied. Single oedometer-collapse tests were performed on intact loess specimens to investigate the collapse behavior of three loess soils. The microstructure and chemical composition of each loess before and after collapse test were characterized using scanning electron microscopy(i.e. SEM) and energy dispersive spectroscopy(i.e. EDS) techniques. The microstructural evolution due to wetting collapse was interpreted qualitatively and quantitatively in terms of the pore morphology properties. The results suggest that:(1) the collapse potential of each loess may rise again after a round of rise and drop, which could be failure of the new-developed stable structure under quite high vertical pressure. It implies that loess may collapse even if it has collapsed.(2) Q_3, Q_2~2 and Q_2~1 loess have different types of microstructure, namely, granule, aggregate and matrix type of microstructure, respectively.(3) The microstructural evolution due to loading and wetting is observed from a granule type to an aggregate type and finally to a matrix type of structure. The variations in distributions of pore morphology properties indicate that collapse leads to a transformation of large-sized pores into small-sized pores, re-orientation and remolding of soil pores due to particle rearrangement.(4) A porous structure is essential for loess collapse; however, the non-water-stability of bonding agents promotes the occurrence of collapse under the coupling effect of loading and wetting.

Review of collapse triggering mechanism of collapsible soils due towetting

Loess soil deposits are widely distributed in arid and semi-arid regions and constitute about 10% of land area of the world.These soils typically have a loose honeycomb-type meta-stable structure that is susceptible to a large reduction in total volume or collapse upon wetting.Collapse characteristics contribute to various problems to infrastructures that are constructed on loess soils.For this reason,collapse triggering mechanism for loess soils has been of significant interest for researchers and practitioners all over the world.This paper aims at providing a state-of-the-art review on collapse mechanism with special reference to loess soil deposits.The collapse mechanism studies are summarized under three different categories,i.e.traditional approaches,microstructure approach,and soil mechanics-based approaches.The traditional and microstructure approaches for interpreting the collapse behavior are comprehensively summarized and critically reviewed based on the experimental results from the literature.The soil mechanics-based approaches proposed based on the experimental results of both compacted soils and natural loess soils are reviewed highlighting their strengths and limitations for estimating the collapse behavior.Simpler soil mechanics-based approaches with less parameters or parameters that are easy-to-determine from conventional tests are suggested for future research to better understand the collapse behavior of natural loess soils.Such studies would be more valuable for use in conventional geotechnical engineering practice applications.

Feasibility of using electrokinetics and nanomaterials to stabilize and improve collapsible soils

Loess as a subcategory of collapsible soils is a well-known aeolian deposit generally characterized as a highly-porous medium with relatively low natural density and water content and a high percentage of fine-grained particles.Such collapsible soil sustains large stresses under a dry condition with natural water content.However,it can experience high and relatively sudden decreases in its volume once it reaches a certain water content under a certain load and therefore,the natural condition of the soil might not be suitable for construction if the possibility of the exposure of the soil to excessive water exists during the lifetime of the project.This research presents the utilization of an innovative method for stabilization and improvement of Gorgan loessial soil.This method uses electrokinetics and nanomaterials to instigate additives to move through soil pores,as an in situ remedial measure.To assess the acceptability of this measure,the deformability and strength characteristics of the improved collapsible soil are measured and compared with those of the unimproved soil,implementing several unsaturated oedometer tests under constant vertical stress and varying matric suction.The result emphasizes the importance of the matric suction on the behavior of both improved and unimproved soils.The test results indicate that the resistance of the soil was highly dependent on the water content and matric suction of the soil.The oedometer tests on samples improved by 3%lime and 5%nanomaterials show considerable improvement of the collapse potential.Results also reveal that stabilized samples experience notably lower volume decrease under the same applied stresses.

Processes and mechanisms of multi-collapse of loess roads in seasonally frozen ground regions: A review

Usually, the collapsible loess widely distributed across the world can serve as a type of foundation soil that meets its strength requirement after dense compaction and elimination of collapsibility. However, many problems such as cracks and differential settlement still occur in loess roads in the seasonally frozen ground regions after several years of op- eration. Many studies have demonstrated that these secondary or multiple collapses primarily result from the repeated freezing-thawing, wetting-drying, and salinization-desalinization cycles. Therefore, we conducted a research program to （1） monitor the in-situ ground temperatures and water content in certain loess roads to understand their changes, （2） study the effects of freezing-thawing, wetting-drying, and salinization-desalinization cycles on geotechnical properties and micro-fabrics of compacted loess in the laboratory, and （3） develop mitigative measures and examine their engineered effectiveness, i.e., their thermal insulating and water-proofing effects in field and laboratory tests. Our results and advances are reviewed and some further research needs are proposed. These findings more clearly explain the processes and mechanisms of secondary and multiple collapse of loess roads. We also offer references for further study of the weakening mechanisms of similar structural soils.

Microstructure evolution of loess under multiple collapsibility based on nuclear magnetic resonance and scanning electron microscopy

In recent years, the acceleration of urbanization in loess areas has prompted frequent dismantling and reconstruction of old urban areas. Demolition and reconstruction of buildings involve multiple collapses of the foundation. To study microstructure evolution of loess under multiple collapsibility, this paper selects undisturbed loess samples from Guyuan, Northwest China for multiple compression tests. Using nuclear magnetic resonance(NMR) imaging and scanning electron microscopy(SEM) as auxiliary methods, a combination of qualitative and quantitative analyses was used to study the microstructure of loess samples before and after various number of collapses under different pressures. Results show that the loess does undergo multiple collapse under 200 kPa pressure. Pore is an important reason for loess collapse. The initial collapse comes primarily from the compression of macropores and mesopores, and the second collapse comes primarily from mesopore compression. The compression process of loess can be roughly divided into two stages. First, under the action of dissolution and compression, the relative displacement of soil particles occurs. Macropores and mesopores are destroyed first, generating small pores. Second, with increasing pressure and times of collapses, pore compression gradually transforms into small pore compression. During the first collapse, particle aggregates disintegrate due to water and pressure. However, with increasing times of collapses, the contact relationship between particles gradually changes from the point contact to face contact. Loess particles tend to gradually become rounded. The study of the microstructure provides the possibility to further reveal the mechanism of multiple collapsibility of loess.

Evaluation and Analysis of the Effect of Lignin Amelioration on Loess Collapsibility

The road subgrade and road surface in collapsible loess area are prone to many engineering diseases such as uneven subgrade settlement,insufficient bearing capacity of soaked foundation,collapse and instability of sub-grade side slope due to the special properties of loess.As an environment-friendly,low-cost soil modifier with good adhesion and chelation properties,lignin has been considered to be used in highway subgrade construction.In order to explore the effect of lignin on loess,the compressive and collapsible properties of modified loess with different lignin contents were analyzed based on consolidation compression test.The improvement mechanism of lignin on loess collapsibility was studied by means of infiltration test and SEM test.The results show that lignin fibers can promote the agglomeration of loose particles and form a network structure in the soil particle pores,enhance the cementation strength between particles and soil skeleton,and reduce the permeability of loess.With the increase of lignin fiber content,the improvement degree of loess collaps ility shows a trend of first increasing and then decreasing.When the lignin fiber content is 2%,the effect is the best,and the improved loess ollapsi-bility is eliminated.

古土壤层间富水对黄土场地湿陷性的影响

黄土地层中往往交替分布着多层红色古土壤层,由于其硬度相对较高,遇水不易湿陷,对黄土地层湿陷量的测量结果有很大的影响。然而,对于古土壤对湿陷量的控制作用目前还缺乏相关研究,导致对湿陷地层湿陷量的科学取舍缺乏理论依据。为此该文统计了黄土高原区的浸水试验结果,分析了不同区域湿陷量室内外差异特征,并以西安地区两个试验场地的大型浸水试验为研究对象,进行了不同试验条件下土体中水分的扩散、含水率的变化、土压力变化以及累计湿陷量等测量工作。最终结果表明,古土壤层的存在阻碍湿陷进程,在阻止水分下渗的同时,阻碍深部地层湿陷量传递至地表,使得湿陷量实测值与计算值之间的差异与古土壤层数呈现正相关的趋势。该文将为普遍存在古土壤的黄土地层自重湿陷机理的研究提供参考。

渭北黄土台塬区水库水下岸坡稳定形态预测模型研究

黄土地区水库塌岸预测仍以卡丘金法等经验图解法为主,此类方法预测结果的准确性取决于对岸坡剖面形态的准确描述。为了提高黄土地区水库塌岸宽度预测的准确性,选取渭北黄土台塬区选择典型水库进行现场调查,对原河道岸坡形态与蓄水后岸坡形态进行对比分析,在此基础上建立了水下岸坡形态预测模型。结果表明,渭北黄土台塬区水库岸坡塌岸稳定后,水上岸坡呈直立状,高度可达30 m以上,水下岸坡呈曲线形,受水深和岸坡高度共同影响,塌落物可能露出水面。在此基础上基于对数螺线方程建立了水下岸坡形态预测模型,并与经典图解法所用直线型岸坡进行对比,误差分析结果表明采用对数螺线方程进行水下岸坡形态预测时堆积体积误差为4.50%~39.70%,均值为12.64%,而直线型岸坡的预测误差为25.75%~124.69%,均值为75.69%。即采用对数螺线方程可以更好的测水下岸坡形态及水下堆积量。相关研究成果对黄土台塬区水库塌岸预测方法的改进,以及黄河流域的渭北黄土台塬区的环境保护与高质量发展具有实际意义。

黄土堆填场地转化为泥石流物质过程--以兰州市碱水沟为例

黄土地区人工堆填场地是近几年兰州市拓展城市用地空间的一个新举措,在场地边缘形成较多堆填边坡,成为参与泥石流的潜在物质。以兰州市碱水沟“4•19”泥石流灾害为例,结合粒径分析试验、扫描电镜图像及野外入渗试验,探讨其特征及运行模式,并提出相应的治理建议。结果表明:1)黄土地区人工堆填体颗粒粒径<1.000 mm的物质约占11.4%~55.2%,有利于泥石流启动;2)以2个相距170 m的泥位调查断面做比较,下游断面流量增加2.5倍,说明入渗引起的黄土湿陷能促进泥石流物质的转化率;3)入渗试验表明:黄土堆填场地渗透性强,低水头条件下8 min左右达到稳定入渗状态,高水头条件下12 min左右达到稳定入渗状态,能在较短的时间内使土壤软化,影响人工堆填场边坡稳定,提高泥石流物质转化速度;4)黄土地区人工堆积体场地诱发的泥石流流动模式复杂、多变,兼具波状流和间歇流的特点。在此基础上,笔者提出过程管理和重点防护相结合的防治模式。

湿陷性黄土地基中桩基负摩阻力计算新方法

负摩阻力对湿陷性黄土地基中桩基的承载变形性状具有重要影响,现行桩基规范及黄土规范推荐的负摩阻力计算方法不能反映黄土桩基负摩阻力的实际性状。对近30年来在黄土地区开展的钢筋混凝土灌注桩现场浸水试验实测数据进行统计,分析黄土浸水完成后桩身中性点深度、桩身最大负摩阻力深度及负摩阻力系数与桩长径比的关系,通过线性拟合得到了中性点深度比、最大负摩阻力深度比及负摩阻力系数与桩长径比的经验表达式,提出湿陷性黄土地基中桩基负摩阻力计算的新方法。新方法用三角形表示负摩阻力沿深度的分布,能反映负摩阻力从桩顶向下先逐渐增大、达到最大值后随深度增加逐渐减小、最终在中性点处减小为零的分布特征。将提出的方法、桩基规范及黄土规范方法的计算结果与实测结果进行对比,结果表明,桩基规范预测的中性点深度比优于黄土规范,黄土规范预测的最大下拉荷载优于桩基规范,而用新方法计算的负摩阻力最接近实测结果。

黄土地基不均匀沉降对现浇管廊影响的试验研究

湿陷性黄土地基浸水后的不均匀沉降会使现浇管廊结构产生附加内力,造成管廊结构开裂甚至破坏,严重威胁其运营安全.为深入研究黄土地层湿陷变形对现浇管廊的影响,开展了黄土地层局部浸水湿陷的模型试验.在试验中,设定局部浸水范围,以地基浸水深度为变量,对管廊结构底部位移、土体接触压力、表面应变和地表沉降进行了监测,并分析了其发展趋势.试验结果表明:当局部基底浸水深度达到20 cm,管廊结构在浸水区出现明显的弯曲变形,结构在湿陷区内的最大下沉达到0.57 mm;结构与土体接触压力变化较大区域为湿陷区边缘的管廊底板处;在管廊底部局部浸水发生不均匀沉降时,结构受力形式表现为底板受拉,顶板受压,且越远离管廊中部,所产生的应变越小,拉压应变在湿陷区边缘发生转变;地表也会发生沉降现象,最大沉降值为2.24 mm.试验结果可为湿陷黄土地区现浇管廊的设计和相关病害的防治提供参考.

季冻黄土地区框锚边坡预应力锚杆内力计算方法

冻融土体与锚杆之间相互作用机理研究的不足,导致工程实践中未能充分考虑土体冻融对锚杆内力的影响。针对该问题,基于西宁市季冻湿陷性黄土冻融循环三轴剪切试验,建立考虑冻融次数影响的湿陷性黄土黏聚力经验关系式;根据锚固体与周围土层的变形协调关系,推导冻融条件下框架预应力锚杆锚固段轴力和剪应力的解析式,将理论计算结果与现场试验结果进行对比验证,并分析冻融次数对锚固段轴力和剪应力的影响。结果表明:随冻融次数的增加,土体黏聚力呈指数型下降,锚固段轴力和剪应力在前3次冻融循环中急剧增大,冻融次数达到7次后趋于稳定;相较锚固段末端,锚固段始端轴力受冻融次数的影响更大,但锚固段始端至末端的剪应力随冻融次数的变化规律基本相同;现场试验结果验证了计算方法的合理性。

陕西渭北晚更新世黄土-古土壤结合水膜厚度的试验研究

为深入剖析黄土与古土壤工程性质的影响因素,以陕西渭北晚更新世黄土与古土壤为研究对象,基于核磁共振、比表面积测试并结合理论分析对结合水膜厚度进行研究。试验结果显示:黄土与古土壤的结合水膜厚度存在明显差异,黄土的结合水膜厚度明显大于古土壤,原因在于古土壤孔隙体积及孔径小于黄土,而古土壤中高价阳离子含量大于黄土,同时古土壤颗粒表面分布铁锰质薄膜,其亲水性较弱。分析结合水膜与黄土湿陷性、回弹变形等工程特性间的关系,发现黄土-古土壤的湿陷性随结合水膜厚度的增大而增强,随结合水膜厚度的减小而减弱,结合水膜厚度与卸荷变形系数呈正相关关系。综合分析说明,高价阳离子含量、颗粒表面特性,及孔隙性的不同造成了黄土与古土壤结合水膜厚度的差异,从而导致黄土与古土壤的湿陷性等工程性质有显著区别。